Toni Kent

Toni Kent is a comic with a difference. The professional stand-up and event compere is using her talents as an effortlessly hilarious host to bring awareness to issues such as social mobility. Being uniquely placed in the industry, thanks to her 20 years of experience in IT, nearly a decade of which was spent at Microsoft, has seen Toni become the go-to guest for corporate events. Funny yet professional, Toni tailors her content to the requirements of the occasion, to ensure maximum value and enjoyment from her routines.

With an established personal brand, tonijkent, Toni has built a platform for her services, including as a speaker, presenter, compere, and stand-up. Backed by more than a decade of on-stage experience, Toni isn’t only renowned for her quick wit and comic timing, instead she is also known for her ability to infuse her presentations with key business takeaways and social mobility awareness. Combining her IT expertise and innate ability to engage an audience, Toni delivers talks that focus on facing fear, embracing change, achieving social mobility and surviving as a working parent with a comic twist. Some of the organisations she has worked with include Adobe, Amazon Web Services, Canon Europe, EQT Partners and SAP –  a testament to her versatility and value across sectors. Her adaptability second-to-none, Toni has also been trusted to introduce the likes of June Sarpong OBE, Clive Selley CBE, Greg Johnson and Virginia Chadwyck Healey as a compere.

Making people laugh is a driving force for Toni influenced by her turbulent early upbringing. Growing up on a council estate in a working-class family, Toni endured a number of hardships, including a disrupted education, the death of her father and neglectful living conditions. Despite a difficult start, Toni was determined to carve a more prosperous future for herself and now uses her platform to highlight the challenges faced by those in similar situations and the opportunities for organisations to help. Toni is now the host of the podcast 'university, challenged' whereby she uses career stories to reassure young people they do not need to go to university to have a prosperous career.

Able to explore corporate topics, thanks to her business background, Toni brings humour to such areas as business culture, the application of technology and the relationship between sales and marketing. An equally accomplished writer, and the author of four books including ‘Reasons to Be Cheerful’ you can rest assured your event is in safe hands with bespoke content created by Toni for your audience and with your event theme at the forefront. A totally unique addition to any occasion, Toni will transform your event as a comic, speaker or compere.